James Plaskitt, a former Labour MP who sat on the Treasury select committee, is joining Cicero's UK public affairs practice as a full-time senior counsel.

James Plaskitt: first senior counsel in the agency’s public affairs team

Plaskitt was MP for Warwick and Leamington from 1997 to 2010, during which time he served as a junior minister at the Department for Work and Pensions. He is the first senior counsel the agency’s public affairs team has brought in.

In the past year he has worked in a similar role at another agency, which he would not name, citing a non-disclosure agreement.

Tom Frackowiak, head of UK public affairs at Cicero, said Plaskitt would not be involved in lobbying politicians but would add to the insight the agency can provide to its clients.

Plaskitt’s Treasury select committee experience is likely to be useful to the agency’s largely financial sector client base, which includes Citi, the Peer 2 Peer Finance Association and Hermes.

Plaskitt is the second Labour figure to turn up at a public affairs agency this week, after MHP secured former home secretary Charles Clarke as an adviser.